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Minister of War
The 'minister of war '''is Eugenides's father and an advisor to the queen of Eddis. His name is never revealed in the books, and he is only referred to by his title. Physical Appearance He is described as a stoic man by nature and rarely speaks more than necessary, slight taller than average and solidly built, and has grey hair. As the minister of war, he is a keen military strategist and a skilled swordsman. Story Early Life The minister of war is the younger brother of the previous king of Eddis. Although he arguably had a claim to the throne after his brother's death, he supported his niece's claim instead. At some point, he married the daughter of the previous Thief of Eddis. They had three son together--Stenides, Temenus, and Eugenides--as well as several daughters. After his wife died, the minister of war and Eugenides fought bitterly over Eugenides's intention to become the next Thief of Eddis. The minister of war had hoped that Eugenides would instead become a soldier, and that the title of Thief would fall into disuse. However, Eugenides persisted, and assumed the role of Thief upon his grandfather's death. The Thief Eugenides's father is first mentioned in ''The Thief as a soldier who married Gen's mother, a thief. Gen notes to his traveling companions that his father had hoped that he would be a soldier and had been disappointed when he chose to become a thief instead. When Gen succeeds in stealing and delivering Hamiathes's Gift to the queen of Eddis, Eugenides's father appears for the first time and is revealed to be Eddis's minister of war. Gen reveals that it was his father who, despite disapproving of Gen's intention to become the Queen's Thief, subtly requested that Gen go to Sounis and recover Hamiathes's Gift so that the Eddis would not be pressured into marrying the king of Sounis. When Eugenides returns to Eddis, many of his relatives remark that he is beginning to resemble his father, though Eddis attributes it to a change in personality rather than ability. The Queen of Attolia The minister of war is a recurring character in ''The Queen of Attolia'', first appearing with the queen of Eddis when they learn that Eugenides has been caught by the queen of Attolia during the Thief's attempt to learn if Attolia has formed an alliance with the Mede Empire. Eddis informs him that Attolia will likely refuse any ransom they offer for the Thief's return, which the minister of war reluctantly accepts. When Eugenides is returned with his right hand cut off, the minister remains by his son's side during most of his initial recovery and hides his personal anger and outrage against the queen of Attolia behind his stoic demeanor. When Eddis declares war against Attolia in retaliation for maiming her Thief, the minister notably abstains from voting while the rest of Eddis's council unaminously agree with their queen's decision. Throughout the novel, the minister of war becomes one of the few people aware of Eugenides's activities, including the Thief's plan to steal the queen of Attolia and marry her. When the Thief succeeds in stealing the queen away from Attolia, the minister of war is not among the ministers introduced to Attolia by the chamberlain and appears at the camp where most of the Eddisian troops are stationed, where he helps the queen off her horse as an anonymous older grey-haired soldier with a hard look in his eyes; the identity of the grey-haired soldier is not explicitly disclosed until later in the novel. The queen is uncertain of his identity and later witnesses the soldier fighting alongside Eugenides when the camp is attacked by the Mede; when the Eddisians are captured, Eugenides is chained to two other soldiers, one who happens to be his father, before they are imprisoned in Ephrata. To spare his son from death by the queen's hand, the grey-haired soldier attempts to strangle the Thief while he is asleep, but is kicked in the head by one of Attolia's lieutenants. After the Thief learns that the queen has accepted his proposal, Attolia deliberately sends the grey-haired soldier as a messenger to Eddis, with a cryptic message that she has agreed to the Thief's proposal. The minister of war appears at Eddis's camp, advising her that Eugenides advised that Eddis should attack. Eddis and Attolia succeed in driving away the Mede invaders, during which Attolia reveals to her Mede Ambassador that the grey-haired soldier was actually the minister of war. The minister of war accompanies the queen of Eddis to Attolia's capital, demonstrating he is not intimidated by the queen of Attolia when he refuses to allow Eddis to travel to Attolia without her army. During the meetings to form a peace treaty, both Eddis and Attolia seperately note that minister of war is unhelpful in the process, given his personal feelings towards how Attolia was responsible for maiming Eugenides. The King of Attolia The minster of war is briefly mentioned in The King of Attolia, when Eugenides and Attolia discuss the king of Attolia's lack of dignity. A Conspiracy of Kings The minister appears in A Conspiracy of Kings, having accompanied Eddis during a diplomatic conference between nations in Attolia. He appears after a sparring session between the king of Attolia and the current Mede Ambassador, refusing to indulge his son's anger when Eugenides pitches his and Sophos's practice swords across the training yard. Eugenides later mentions him in conversation with Sophos, remarking that his father would have been a suitable swordsman to fight against the Mede Ambassador to allow the Eddisians and Attolians to learn the Mede style of swordplay, but the king had fought instead at the insistence of Teleus, the captain of the Guard. Category:Characters Category:Eddis Category:People